New Outlook on Klipsch

[dtel's wife]

Attending this Pilgrimage has given me a new prospective on Klipsch and the "other" products they are developing, designing and producing. Although the Heritage line is still close to my heart, as is the factory in Hope, my horizons were expanded this weekend.

After visiting Klipsch headquarters, seeing and hearing some of the new products in various stages of engineering and production I can honestly say....I am impressed...once again.

The engineering department has so many new products they are working on and the level of quality remains true to the heritage of Klipsch. One of the products we tested will set a new standard in the audio/video market. The CES 500 and 700 are truly amazing products, not only in versatility...but more importantly in sound engineering. The future of audio/video is rapidly changing and Klipsch is definitely looking to set the pace.

Trey, your pet project was most impressive...I was so happy to "see" them when we pulled into the parking lot. Super choice of colors also. I want some of them!!!!!!

Fred Klipsch, previously unknown to most, if not all forum members made his presence known last night....and in a big way. He opened the Town Hall meeting and was very up front by saying this was his first Pilgramage. It quickly became obvious the forum has a "voice" with Klipsch. Each member on the panel readily admitted they were "listening" to us. This forum is playing a bigger role in the development of products, marketing of products and overall opinion of products than any of us could have ever realized.

At the Town Hall meeting Fred was more than willing to engage with us...in fact...he jumped at the opporunity to listen to our questions, thoughts, suggestions and straight out jokes.(He even laughed at our jokes) He listened intently to each question or suggestion. If the questions "exceeded someone's pay scale on the panel) he took center stage and answered the question, gladly and willingly. He took note of many of our ideas and was impressed that we all cared enough to attend the Pilgrimage. He thanked us for coming!!! Unless he is a good fake....he genuinely enjoyed his time with us...I know we certainly enjoyed our time with him.

I would like to thank every member on the panel for the time and effort they put forth to educate us, entertain us and listen to us.

Trey, Colter, Customer Service, Engineering, and so many others took such good care of us as a group. The hours that go in to planning this event become more apparent with each Pilgramage I attend. It is a phenomenal group of individuals that actually take the time to host an event like this, surely it is unheard of in the industry.

Klipsch remains on the cutting edge of customer satisfaction and product development. Kudos to a great group of people.

[HarryO]

I couldn't agree with you more Christy.

Impressive the dedication ALL of the Klipsch employees show to the products and their enthusiam to be part of the pilgrimage. Smile Klipsch, you're a winner with a future.

It's great to see an "Old Standard" in the industry looking forward with vision to keep this beloved company afloat, successful, and expanding.

Please just remember where Klipsch comes from and keep the companys "Heritage" alive and strong in the U.S.

2 Channel definitely took a hit in the industry for years. I'm not sure Big and Heavy speakers did this. I feel it's more that the common available electronics fell on their face and were better suited to digital surround than pure music reproduction. Looking at the overall picture since around '82 or so this seems to be the common opinion among listeners.

Looking at one of the hottest industries now the imports are leaning towards tubes and 2 channel. Hey, they know a good thing when they hear it. It's astonishing they're not just copying old technology but taking tried and true products and making them available at affordable prices. 2 channel and quality listening aren't dead by any means. This old market remains untapped. We have the money.

Look at all the forums on the web in audio. It seems many 2 channel listeners have a voice there. Where else do we get the opportunity to bang heads with others listening in this proven mode. Marketed correctly I feel there are many untapped wallets screaming to be put to use if a very accessible product is at hand. I sell quite a few used items and the comments are all the same. "You can't buy quality like this anymore", "It's hard to find new anymore, "Want it now". Understandably it's difficult to stock product and train salespersons working for other companies that sell numerous brand names. I'm passing the word on Klipsch. Marketing without tapping your budget.

One of your best "salespeople" is the product itself. Many of my customers listen to my personal Heritage and have to have them. 2 in the past 2 weeks alone. I'm nobody. My customer count face to face can be counted on one hand per month. One was at the Pilgrimage. IT WAS HIS WIFES BIRTHDAY. HE BARGAINED HIS WAY TO THE PILGRIMAGE. Yep it was "Bad Dad". Way to go Glenn. You have a great wife. I wish my EX was like that. I hated chosing between the Cornwalls and my wife. Sometimes I miss her. Heck, when that happens I just crank it up a notch. I'm over it. Love of product. The other wanted to be there but couldn't make it and is now looking for a nice pair of Heritage for his home. He has a great dedicated listening room with the big Polk and was blown away by the Heritage on an old pair of organ amps. People just need to hear these old jewels and the market is still here. The Europeans and Asians are on the Bandwagon. The U.S. hasn't given up. Just hasn't heard them. Once they hear these old mainstays they buy. They BUY. We need to get the product and name available to the people.

Even in the audio world many don't know the Klipsch name. Starting tomorrow (today now) when I put a few more items on Ebay I'll have my Klipsch Hat in the pics. Klipsch Logos are going to be noticed. There will be no hit on your advertising budget. I'll do my part to make Klipsch a common household name. It is an uncommonly good product. I'll share a slice of the Pie. I'll do my part.

Don't forget our Heritage. I like the fact my speakers have the name of a "PERSON" handwritten on the back of my speakers. Pride and quality.

I don't want to have to "remember when". Please!

Harry

[LoudnClear]

One of the things I want most is to show people the sound and quality and family of Klipsch. If they don't like it, that is fine, but at least having given them the opportunity to lose their ignorance of this great set of products, makes me smile. I love what Klipsch makes and stands for, and I want other people to learn about it too!

I've never talked to a stranger about Klipsch before outside being in an audio store. Wife and I were on our way home from the pilgrimage today, stopped in a little town west of Davenport Iowa for a late lunch. I had on my black Klipsch Oval shirt. The gentleman who ran the restaurant was running the register after our meal. He said "talk to me about Klispch". I said, "you know what it is? Loudspeakers?". He said, "Are you kidding me? I have a 1953 Klipschorn, serial number 457!" We talked for about 5 minutes about Klipsch and how I had been at the pilgrimage. It was all sparked by wearing my shirt. Now that I have the shirts and hats, I'm going to have a ball talking to people who recognize the name, as well as talking to people who say "what does your shirt mean?".

I'm confident that the new development paths they're on are in phase with the current market trends. I'm primarily concerned with maintaining Heritage. I have to keep telling myself that Klipsch sucess in mainstream areas keeps Klipsch Heritage products alive. I cannot wait for the day when large loudspeakers are back in style and people value function over form. It will happen.

[dtel's wife]

It seems the Heritage line is currently being maintained by sales overseas. That being said...very often sales in the U.S. generally tend to follow those trends.

It seems the Pro Media line was a huge success in the 18-24 year old market. That is the same market that will be looking for home speakers down the road. IMO, that group will remember their first Klipsch purchase and the quality of sound. This group IMO is the target market for future sales of Heritage products in the United States

The mind set of "having large speakers" took a downward spiral thanks to the high visibility of companies such as Bo**, with an obvious lack of regard for quality sound. The new CS line is providing the quality thus far lacking in home theater in a box. Those little systems are offering HUGE sound in a small package.

I was impressed with the new products Klipsch is developing. I believe some of the technology is cutting edge and will bring Klipsch greater name recognition once introduced to the market. Although some of the products will be a little "pricey" consumers will spend the extra dollars to have quality products and quality sound. The commitment of Klipsch to provide quality products with quality sound is the heritage of the company. It became obvious to most attending the Pilgrimage this tradition is still held in high esteem by the folks at Klipsch.

IMO, Klipsch will gain name recognition through the innovative products currently being brought to the market and that will eventually propel sales of the Heritage line.

IMO, the new products we saw and tested are truly cutting edge technology.

[JDB_Rocks]

Attending this Pilgrimage has given me a new prospective on Klipsch and the "other" products they are developing, designing and producing.  Although the Heritage line is still close to my heart, as is the factory in Hope, my horizons were expanded this weekend.

After visiting Klipsch headquarters, seeing and hearing some of the new products in various stages of engineering and production I can honestly say....I am impressed...once again.

The engineering department has so many new products they are working on and the level of quality remains true to the heritage of Klipsch.  One of the products we tested will set a new standard in the audio/video market.  The CES 500 and 700 are truly amazing products, not only in versatility...but more importantly in sound engineering.  The future of audio/video is rapidly changing and Klipsch is definitely looking to set the pace.

I too was very impressed by the 500/700 HTiB's sound quality and it's versatility potential. 

I went in there l8r in the afternoon and played about half a dozen songs at fairly high volume and, 

aside from a slight wiring issue, there still seemed to be *plenty* of room to 'crank it up' without any problem.

Very BIG sound from such little speakers. The virtual surround sounds from them little buggers knocked my socks off too!!!!!!!!!!!!

Trey, your pet project was most impressive...I was so happy to "see" them when we pulled into the parking lot.  Super choice of colors also.  I want some of them!!!!!!  

I arrived a tad bit late at Klipsch HQ and while trying to figure out where to enter I heard Trey's 'pets' but it wasn't until l8r 

when doing the lab tour that I found out where that great sound was coming from. I thought that they might have set up some commercial/PA stuff outside for us to hear .... imagine my surprise when I finally saw the source! Gi9ves a whole new meaning to 'Rockin the neighborhood'.

Fred Klipsch, previously unknown to most, if not all forum members made his presence known last night....and in a big way.  He opened the Town Hall meeting and was very up front by saying this was his first Pilgramage.  It quickly became obvious the forum has a "voice" with Klipsch.  Each member on the panel readily admitted they were "listening" to us.  This forum is playing a bigger role in the development of products, marketing of products and overall opinion of products than any of us could have ever realized.

At the Town Hall meeting Fred was more than willing to engage with us...in fact...he jumped at the opporunity to listen to our questions, thoughts, suggestions and straight out jokes.(He even laughed at our jokes)  He listened intently to each question or suggestion.  If the questions "exceeded someone's pay scale on the panel) he took center stage and answered the question, gladly and willingly.   He took note of many of our ideas and was impressed that we all cared enough to attend the Pilgrimage.  He thanked us for coming!!!   Unless he is a good fake....he genuinely enjoyed his time with us...I know we certainly enjoyed our time with him.

I had the pleasure of meeting Fred last July @ the Indy Grand Prix Concours Car Show on Monument Circle and we talked for a bit about cars, music and such, so eventually we got around to talking about my system ... what I had, what I *wish* I had, why hadn't I gotten a few things I wanted to get. He listened very intently to what I had to say, asked me some very direct questions and I had a great conversation with hm. I knew up front that he was 'someone' from Klipsch but it wasn't until *AFTER* we talked that I found out he was Fred Klipsch. I can honestly say that the observations made above about Fred, IMMHO, are very accurate indeed .... he takes a true interest in what his customer base is saying.

I would like to thank every member on the panel for the time and effort they put forth to educate us, entertain us and listen to us.

Trey, Colter, Customer Service, Engineering, and so many others took such good care of us as a group.  The hours that go in to planning this event become more apparent with each Pilgramage I attend.  It is a phenomenal group of individuals that actually take the time to host an event like this, surely it is unheard of in the industry. 

Klipsch remains on the cutting edge of customer satisfaction and product development.  Kudos to a great group of people.

I too would like to say "Thank You Sooooooo Very Much" to Trey, Amy, Michael, Fred and everone else at Klipsch for their hospitality, time and energy in planning this event 

and for giving us the rare opportunity to see what goes into developing such awesome products as well as a sneak peek at some really cool toys that are in the pipeline.

peace, mitch

"Secret, Secret, I've got a Secret!"

- Dennis DeYoung